Brunettes sign with Sub Pop

A gruelling few months on the road for New Zealand band the Brunettes has paid off. They've signed with the Seattle-based record label Sub Pop, famous for securing bands that include Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney.

They will join a roster that includes The Shins, the Postal Service, Sleater-Kinney and Wolf Parade.

Label founder Jonathan Poneman, who discovered Nirvana, said he felt compelled to sign the Brunettes after they "shimmied, curtsied and barnstormed" their way into American hearts. The label distributed the band's EP this year.

"It's their unerring ability to captivate, both on stage and in the studio, that inspired me to purchase their souls," Poneman said. "These youngsters know how to shake some action."

Band founders Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield are recording their third album in New York, expected to be released in the United States in August, and will return to New Zealand early next year to play the Big Day Out and to tour Australia. They are planning another tour of America in March.

They're not the only New Zealanders to be snapped up overseas. Die! Die! Die! have signed to Sydney-based punk-rock label OK! Relax, which will release the band's debut album in January. The band's contract with Wellington-based Capital Records has expired.

In February, Die! Die! Die! will tour Japan, Europe, the US and Britain.

The Checks are rumoured to be on the verge of signing with London label Full Time Hobby.